Chapter 214: A Plan? More Like Improvisation!
Kurt never expected Team Rocket to show up instead of Pryce.
But how did they even know he had the crafting method for the "Poké Ball that captures time"…?
Kurt couldn't understand.
But one thing was certain—he wouldn't hand over the secret scroll passed down through generations so easily!
Sensing Kurt's resolve, his Shuckle took a battle stance in front of him.
But to Team Rocket, this was no threat at all.
Without even needing Giovanni's command, one of the grunts sent out a Kadabra.
The spoon in Kadabra's hand bent slightly, and Shuckle was instantly lifted into the air by Psychic, rendered helpless.
With Shuckle neutralized, Lambda, ever the eager lackey, stepped forward.
"Old man, just hand it over!"
Kurt tensed.
No! He couldn't let this fall into Team Rocket's hands!
He instinctively clutched the scroll and the half-finished GS Ball Asahi had given him.
Lambda noticed his movement and smirked. "Carrying it with you, huh?"
With a flick of his wrist, his Raticate lunged forward.
A blur of motion—
Kurt clutched his arm in pain as Raticate returned, holding the scroll and GS Ball in its mouth.
Lambda smugly patted Raticate's head before handing the items to Giovanni.
Giovanni unrolled the scroll and smiled.
It was indeed the blueprint for the Poké Ball that captured time.
As for the other Poké Ball…
"Is this a finished product?" Giovanni asked.
Kurt remained silent, regret flooding his heart.
Why hadn't he listened to Asahi and left?
Unbothered by Kurt's lack of response, Giovanni gestured to his men.
If Kurt could craft the Poké Ball, he was too valuable to leave behind.
The grunts restrained Kurt, binding him, while Giovanni left a letter on the tatami in front of the door.
Not long after Team Rocket departed, Pryce arrived.
The moment he saw the ruined courtyard, his face darkened.
An ominous feeling grew in his chest.
Searching the area, he found no trace of Kurt.
Only a single letter remained.
It bore just four words:
[To Pryce – Open Immediately]
Pryce's unease intensified as he opened the envelope.
Inside was a single line:
[Three days from now, bring Silver to Ilex Forest for an exchange—Kurt and the crafting blueprints. —Giovanni]
"...."
Pryce's expression was dark as he struggled to comprehend the situation.
He had taken every precaution to keep the Poké Ball that captures time a secret—even his own subordinates knew nothing about it.
So how did Giovanni and Team Rocket find out!?
And more importantly—he had already said that Silver wasn't in his hands. Where was he supposed to pull a Silver from to hand over to Giovanni!?
Pryce took a deep breath. If he had a chance to do it over again, he would never have kidnapped Silver.
It had done nothing to benefit the Masked Army and had only created endless trouble for him.
But there was no medicine for regret.
Clenching his fists tightly, Pryce commanded his ice sculpture substitute to crush the letter into powder before turning away.
Since Team Rocket had issued a challenge, three days from now would be their final battle.
---
Pryce returned to the Masked Army's base, rallying his forces to prepare for the decisive showdown against Team Rocket…
Goldenrod City – Silph Hotel
Inside a rented conference room, 87.5% of Johto's Gym Leaders were gathered.
...The only one missing was Pryce.
"So… our enemy is Pryce?" Whitney asked.
Even after watching the footage, many of the Gym Leaders still couldn't fully process that the kind and gentle Pryce was actually the leader of the Masked Army.
Asahi glanced at Whitney, his expression heavy. "At first, I didn't want to believe it either… but the evidence is right in front of us."
He looked deeply conflicted, as if he were struggling to accept the truth.
Green and Sabrina, watching from the side, were completely speechless.
If they didn't already know that Asahi had been suspicious of Pryce since Saffron City, they might have actually believed his act.
A tense silence filled the conference room.
Finally, Bruno—representing the League—spoke up.
"The League has already drafted a preliminary wanted order for Pryce. If anyone still has doubts, we can discuss them after we capture him."
Hearing this, the gathered Gym Leaders nodded in agreement.
They had all heard about the Whirl Islands storm, and if Pryce continued unchecked, there was no telling what kind of catastrophe he might cause next.
"What's our next move?" Falkner asked practically, directing the question at Asahi.
Asahi nodded. "Good question… I've already formulated a comprehensive plan for this operation."
He clapped his hands to grab everyone's attention, then displayed a PowerPoint presentation on the screen behind him.
The title was clear and to the point:
"Kanto-Johto Joint Operation Against Team Rocket & The Masked Army"
(Yes, the PPT was rushed overnight by Green)
Opening the presentation, Asahi began explaining the composition of both factions and the Pokémon specialties of each key officer.
"Since I severely crippled Team Rocket in Kanto, their available forces are limited. The main combatants will be Giovanni himself and the Four Generals… At most, they might summon one of the Beast Trio from the Sevii Islands. However, the bulk of their numbers will come from ordinary members."
"In contrast, the Masked Army is structured more simply: led by Pryce, with four division heads—Kaz, Rika, Shamu, and Ichiki—and a smaller number of rank-and-file soldiers."
"One key point: Team Rocket and the Masked Army are currently at war."
Asahi then analyzed their potential battle strategies and even included plans for post-battle press releases to control public perception.
The PowerPoint was extremely detailed.
But after reviewing it, the group realized that Asahi had left out one crucial detail.
"What's the actual battle plan?" Bruno asked.
Asahi had thoroughly analyzed their enemies—even providing intelligence the League itself hadn't obtained.
But he hadn't said a single word about the actual strategy for the battle.
And their opponents this time were no joke.
Hearing Bruno's question, Asahi smiled slightly.
"Of course, there's a plan."
He clicked his remote, advancing to the final slide of the PowerPoint.
Four large words appeared on the screen.
"Adapt to the Situation."
"…..?"
The room, which had been full of anticipation, was now full of confusion.
Adapt to the situation?
For something as serious as a battle against Team Rocket and the Masked Army, that was the strategy?
As the Johto Gym Leaders exchanged uncertain looks, Green and Sabrina remained unfazed—they had expected this outcome.
Back on New Island, Asahi had done the exact same thing.
And to be fair…
It had worked pretty well.
---
After dismissing the Johto Gym Leaders and other League personnel, only a handful of people remained in the conference room—Asahi, Green, Sabrina, Ethan, Silver, and Bruno.
"Now that everyone else is gone, can you finally tell us the real plan?" Bruno asked confidently.
He was sure that someone capable of crippling Team Rocket in Kanto couldn't possibly be planning to wing it against Pryce.
Surely, Asahi had only kept the real plan secret for security reasons.
But now that only trustworthy people were left, there was no need for secrecy, right?
Bruno was absolutely certain he had figured it out.
Asahi, however, looked at him in confusion.
"I did tell you my plan just now. Adapt to the situation."
Bruno was stunned.
He sat there in silence for a long moment before finally responding:
"….."
His expression turned strange as he stared at Asahi.
I thought you were bluffing, but you were actually serious…?
This is insane.
How the hell did you even manage to crush Team Rocket before…?
Bruno was having an existential crisis.
The League's previous operations against Team Rocket had always been meticulously planned, yet here was Asahi… just winging it and somehow succeeding spectacularly.
He couldn't understand.
Before Bruno could say anything more, Asahi's phone rang.
Caller ID: "Noctowl".
Earlier, Asahi had asked him to escort Kurt and his granddaughter to safety.
Now that he was calling, it likely meant the mission was complete.
Asahi answered, "How is everything? Are they safe?"
"Kurt's granddaughter is secure," Noctowl replied. "But… Kurt insisted on staying behind to try and reason with Pryce. When I went back to check, he was already missing…"
Asahi's brows furrowed.
He hadn't expected Kurt to be so stubborn… but considering his past friendship with Pryce, it wasn't entirely surprising.
Still, Asahi wasn't too worried.
Pryce had changed, but as long as Kurt handed over the GS Ball blueprints, his life shouldn't be in danger.
At least, that was what Asahi thought—until Noctowl added:
"After investigating the scene… I discovered that Kurt was actually kidnapped by Team Rocket."
Asahi: "?"
Had he misheard? Team Rocket took Kurt?
Before he could ask further, Noctowl sent over a photo.
The image showed a torn, water-stained letter, but most of the words were still readable.
["Three days later, bring Silver to Ilex xx to exchange for Kurt and xxxx. —Giovxxxx"]
Asahi: "….."
Well, damn. It really was Giovanni.
Kurt got intercepted by Team Rocket.
As for how Giovanni knew about the GS Ball and Kurt…
Asahi thought for a moment and realized… it was probably his own fault.
After all, he had tipped Giovanni off that Pryce was collecting Ho-Oh's and Lugia's feathers.
So in a way… this whole situation started with him?
"Cough…"
Shaking his head, Asahi pushed that thought aside. Nope, definitely not my fault.
Meanwhile, Green, Sabrina, and the others gathered around to look at the message Giovanni left Pryce.
All eyes then turned to Silver.
Ethan, who didn't know Silver's identity, exclaimed, "Silver, why is your name in this!?"
Silver turned away, refusing to answer.
Asahi, however, wasn't focused on that.
He had just realized something.
Giovanni wanted to exchange Kurt and the GS Ball for Silver.
But Pryce couldn't hand over Silver.
And Pryce absolutely needed the GS Ball.
Which meant—
In three days, Team Rocket and the Masked Army would go to war!
Asahi suddenly felt that Kurt getting captured might actually be a good thing.
Now, even if Pryce didn't want to fight Giovanni, he had to.
Asahi suddenly wanted to thank Giovanni.
But first—he needed to make sure Giovanni didn't get caught off guard by Pryce.
Before the battle, he would send Giovanni a full briefing on Pryce's capabilities.
Then, turning to Bruno, Asahi grinned.
"You asked why my plan was to adapt to the situation?"
"The answer is simple—no plan survives first contact with reality."
"I just received reliable intelligence… Giovanni and Pryce are going to war in three days, in Ilex Forest."
"Our job? Let them fight. Then swoop in and clean up the mess."
---
Three Days Later – Azalea Town
The once peaceful town had fallen into an eerie silence.
Not a single person remained.
Even the Slowpoke in Slowpoke Well had been evacuated.
With the citizens gone, it was clear that the League was aware of the impending battle.
But neither Team Rocket nor Pryce cared.
At this moment, their only focus was on their objectives.
Ilex Forest
Giovanni led his subordinates to the shrine deep within the forest.
He could barely contain his anticipation.
After so many years…
He was finally going to see Silver again.
As Giovanni patiently waited for Pryce to arrive, the communicator in his pocket suddenly vibrated.
He glanced at the screen.
It was another email from Asahi.
Giovanni frowned.
After the last time Asahi sent him a message, he had no intention of opening this one.
But just as he was about to put his communicator away, he hesitated.
After all, Asahi had provided him with critical information before.
After a moment of consideration, Giovanni pinched his nose and opened the email.
...
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